Epic Games knows that successful a video game comes an eSports counterpart. And though they have been busy for most of 2019 regarding the scene, they are welcoming 2020 with huge news for high school and college student fans residing in the U.S.
Ever since its release in 2017, Fortnite is aimed to rival the then number one battle royale game, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. The North Carolina-company put colors and anime in mind for their spin at the genre. Unsurprisingly, Fortnite is most popular with the younger audience because of its cosmetics, free-to-play feature, and its cross-platform compatibility.
Calling all Duos.
Fortnite, now on PlayVS, is FREE for all students.
Season kicks off 2/17.https://t.co/7gM4NEYhoi pic.twitter.com/RfNz3ukgfP
— PlayVS (@playvs) January 22, 2020
On January 22, Epic Games announced that they are partnering with PlayVS to bring Fortnite to an officially sanctioned tournament for U.S. students. PlayVS is a high school eSports league platform that caters to titles such as League of Legends, Rocket League, and Smite. “Proud to announce that @PlayVS has partnered with @EpicGames to operate @FortniteGame competitions in High School and College,” CEO of PlayVS, Delane Parnell, tweets. He gratefully acknowledges that this is the first time Epic is organizing an amateur competition for their prized game.
The high school series will have six divisions in respect of the timezones in America: Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, Alaska, and Hawaii. The college chapter, however, will only have one conference for the entire country. Set in a private server, the duo of each school will battle against other teams every week. The games are expected to be a maximum of two hours or seven games per series.
Throughout the competition, teams can earn points depending on their placements. Victory Royale earns 10 points, 7 points 2nd-3rd, 5 points for 4th-7th, and 3 points for 8th-12th teams. The top four finishers in their conferences will receive playoff spots to a total of 32 duos. 18 squads will be considered who are the highest-scoring qualifiers.
The high school circuit registration starts on February 17, and the competition begins on February 26. The collegiate teams can commence signing up a little later, February 24. The latter’s tournament will kick off on March 4. The prize pool for the respected competitions is yet to be revealed, but seeing how the other titles treat theirs, prize money, and scholarships will mostly going to be involved. The championship series is expected to be played in May after an eight-week tournament.
The startup company PlayVS launched in April 2018 and has created a name for themselves in the high school eSports realm. The LA-based company is partnered with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) to bring modern-day high school athletes closer to their proximate schools. Students or parents can pay $64 to PlayVS’ services. For Fortnite, though, the company has made it free for everyone who wishes to compete.
